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Tornado victims along coastal Georgia are reliving a nightmare thanks to Ian

Bryan County was slammed by a tornado in April.

ATLANTA — Victims of an April tornado feel like they’re reliving a nightmare as Tropical Storm Ian threatens to bring damaging wind and rain to coastal Georgia.

Bryan County near Savannah is among the areas of Georgia that are under a Tropical Storm Watch. Towns like Ellabell and Pembroke are still recovering from the April 5 tornado that devastated numerous homes and took one life.

Nolan Driggers and his family lost their home. With Ian barreling toward them, they feel like they have been through enough.

“Between getting hurt at work, the complications of my back surgery, the tornado, and now this, it seems we’re constantly getting hit with something lately,” Driggers told 11Alive.

He said his two daughters, 4-year-old Kenzie and 8-year-old Zoe, can’t stop thinking about Hurricane Ian.

Both are still shaken by the horrifying experience of living through a tornado that flipped the family’s home upside down.

“I don’t know how we survived,” Driggers said. “I can’t explain it other than God saved us. Every time we have an afternoon thunderstorm my kids scream hysterically, crying, worrying, won’t get out of my arms. That’s what’s got me worried about this hurricane.”

The April tornado came just a short time after Nolan injured his back at work. He didn’t have insurance to replace his home. Charities including God’s Pit Crew and a local gun store bought the family a completely furnished new home.

“I’ve believed in God my whole life and I’ve had faith,” Driggers added. “That tornado made me get right.”

Ian could put the Driggers through it all again. However, Nolan isn’t as worried about his new home as he is his family.

“I can’t really afford to run out of town but I’m thinking I don’t have a choice,” he said.

Adding to his worries is his son Nolan Jr., who works for a property restoration company and is currently in Florida to help put the state back together after Ian is finished there.

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